items and secrets the world is often not meant to see or hear about.”
She sat back, an elbow propped on one arm and her thumb tapping her jaw. This was very likely a wild goose chase. Much as she’d like to take the money, she’d ruin her reputation by accepting a job that every other person in her field would label a fool’s errand, because there was no such scroll.
If it did exist, that artifact would be worth more money than ... she couldn’t even put a price on it.
“You don’t believe me.” Mr. Smith stated that without the least bit of annoyance.
“I’m not questioning your integrity,” she made clear, “but I am questioning the authenticity of this scroll.”
“Convincing you of that is not one of my concerns. Only locating the artifact that was taken.”
She sat forward, folding her arms on the table. “Was this scroll ever authenticated?”
“Yes, but I’ve answered enough questions. Authentication does not fall within the parameters of this contract, but I have photographs that were taken in recent years by someone who had been invited to study the scroll and tried to leave with the images. We retrieved the shots and they stayed in the Vatican until now.”
She chuckled, still not believing this. “We’re not talking about Galileo’s Sidereus Nuncius of which twenty-five copies are still floating around.” Even a fake copy of that publication had made it past world-renowned experts. “I’ve never even heard of the existence of this scroll. Things with that type of historical significance have names. What’s the scroll called?”
“Are you accepting the contract?”
What if Galileo really had left a scroll in the Vatican?
There were plenty of artifacts that no one knew about stored beneath that mammoth structure, so Valene couldn’t actually say beyond a shadow of a doubt that this scroll didn’t exist.
Her gut whined a little, but Valene had no concrete reason to turn this down. “I’m in. Show me the photos.” She stuck her hand in her purse and fished out her notebook.
Smith pushed buttons on his electronic tablet. When she looked at him again, he said, “First, we’ll sign the nondisclosure agreement on my tablet, and I’ll forward a signed copy to you immediately.”
“Fine, but I also want a clause added to the final agreement that states the theft happened in Italy and that I will in no way be breaking US or international law by aiding you in the recovery.”
Smith nodded and they both signed using his stylus, then Valene added one more stipulation. “I’ll also need official documentation for chain of possession upon delivery, so there is no question that the scroll was returned to the pope’s people.”
Smith took his time, thinking.
That pause was actually a positive sign.
He finally nodded. “Upon delivery of the scroll, I’ll provide a document stating that I took possession as a representative of the Vatican.” Acting as if that had settled all negotiation, he quickly tapped a file on the monitor.
It opened to rows of images.
But she’d caught a glimpse of the icon for that file–an image of a fisherman in a circle–that she recognized as the emblem on the pope’s ring.
That quieted down her suspicious side a little.
Multiple images of a scroll popped up in rows of five. He touched the first one that opened to a close-up of Galileo’s signature.
She leaned in. Impressive, but if she was putting that scroll on auction it would still need to be verified by three more experts.
Smith continued touching images that provided close-up shots of age marks and star maps scattered through the writings.
It sure as hell looked like a Galileo document.
Whether it was or not, she’d agreed to find it. Smith and the Vatican could worry about authenticating it.
He caught her frowning. “Problem?”
She plastered a polite smile on her face and shook her head. “No. Keep the slideshow rolling.”
When the presentation ended, Valene
She sat back, an elbow propped on one arm and her thumb tapping her jaw. This was very likely a wild goose chase. Much as she’d like to take the money, she’d ruin her reputation by accepting a job that every other person in her field would label a fool’s errand, because there was no such scroll.
If it did exist, that artifact would be worth more money than ... she couldn’t even put a price on it.
“You don’t believe me.” Mr. Smith stated that without the least bit of annoyance.
“I’m not questioning your integrity,” she made clear, “but I am questioning the authenticity of this scroll.”
“Convincing you of that is not one of my concerns. Only locating the artifact that was taken.”
She sat forward, folding her arms on the table. “Was this scroll ever authenticated?”
“Yes, but I’ve answered enough questions. Authentication does not fall within the parameters of this contract, but I have photographs that were taken in recent years by someone who had been invited to study the scroll and tried to leave with the images. We retrieved the shots and they stayed in the Vatican until now.”
She chuckled, still not believing this. “We’re not talking about Galileo’s Sidereus Nuncius of which twenty-five copies are still floating around.” Even a fake copy of that publication had made it past world-renowned experts. “I’ve never even heard of the existence of this scroll. Things with that type of historical significance have names. What’s the scroll called?”
“Are you accepting the contract?”
What if Galileo really had left a scroll in the Vatican?
There were plenty of artifacts that no one knew about stored beneath that mammoth structure, so Valene couldn’t actually say beyond a shadow of a doubt that this scroll didn’t exist.
Her gut whined a little, but Valene had no concrete reason to turn this down. “I’m in. Show me the photos.” She stuck her hand in her purse and fished out her notebook.
Smith pushed buttons on his electronic tablet. When she looked at him again, he said, “First, we’ll sign the nondisclosure agreement on my tablet, and I’ll forward a signed copy to you immediately.”
“Fine, but I also want a clause added to the final agreement that states the theft happened in Italy and that I will in no way be breaking US or international law by aiding you in the recovery.”
Smith nodded and they both signed using his stylus, then Valene added one more stipulation. “I’ll also need official documentation for chain of possession upon delivery, so there is no question that the scroll was returned to the pope’s people.”
Smith took his time, thinking.
That pause was actually a positive sign.
He finally nodded. “Upon delivery of the scroll, I’ll provide a document stating that I took possession as a representative of the Vatican.” Acting as if that had settled all negotiation, he quickly tapped a file on the monitor.
It opened to rows of images.
But she’d caught a glimpse of the icon for that file–an image of a fisherman in a circle–that she recognized as the emblem on the pope’s ring.
That quieted down her suspicious side a little.
Multiple images of a scroll popped up in rows of five. He touched the first one that opened to a close-up of Galileo’s signature.
She leaned in. Impressive, but if she was putting that scroll on auction it would still need to be verified by three more experts.
Smith continued touching images that provided close-up shots of age marks and star maps scattered through the writings.
It sure as hell looked like a Galileo document.
Whether it was or not, she’d agreed to find it. Smith and the Vatican could worry about authenticating it.
He caught her frowning. “Problem?”
She plastered a polite smile on her face and shook her head. “No. Keep the slideshow rolling.”
When the presentation ended, Valene
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